much against everyone's advice
by keem
Summary: This time Orihime does not hesitate; she simply comes forward. It is a command she has obeyed many times before, as she encircles her arms around him and closes her eyes, her mouth blindly finding his own. drabble, alternate take on the events of ch. 317.


**A/N:** i _told_ you i wasn't done with the Ulquiorra/Orihime pairing. :3 i don't own _Bleach_, and the quote belongs to Katherine Mansfield.

--

_It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you like - but a mask._

--

Orihime has outlived her use. Ulquiorra knows this - he is among Aizen-sama's most beloved, after all, and thus one of the elite few entrusted with such information. Hours after being enslaved within the confines of an alternate plane of existence courtesy of Grimmjow, Aizen-sama's voice pierces the bleak nothingness that surrounds the Cuatro Espada, and gives him his orders.

"Although it is true that I would like to put Inoue's powers to use, she is expendable, Ulquiorra. Your first priority is Las Noches."

"Understood, sir. But the girl...?"

"Do with her what you like," the former Captain says dismissively. Then, in a very different voice, he commands: "_Ulquiorra_."

Ulquiorra does not inquire further. He merely rips through the fabric of the dimension, parting its opaque recesses as though they were no more than curtains. He steps out into the darkened halls of his lord's antechamber, barren save for one lone individual, who watches him nervously.

"Ulquiorra," she murmurs, shying away from him as the alabaster-skinned Espada turns around. Ulquiorra does not lift his head, does not speak a word, merely looks her up and down in acknowledgement. There is a pause, and Orihime rubs her hands together anxiously, an unconsciously fearful gesture.

"Are you afraid?" he asks in a quiet voice, and Orihime swallows.

--

Ulquiorra is not used to exercising free will so he simply bides his time. To kill or not to kill? Orihime could be a liability, Ulquiorra supposes, given what she knows; beyond that, she could prove to be a useful resource if she fell into the enemy's hands. Then again, she's a valuable commodity _here_, although not a necessary one. Aizen may be willing to let her go, but at the same time he does not seem especially keen on it.

For a while Ulquiorra tells himself he will allow the surrounding circumstances make the decision for him; depending on what Ichigo pulls when he arrives, Ulquiorra will be coerced into taking the appropriate course of action. For a while he seems content with the idea, but later it starts to trouble him: Ulquiorra does not like leaving things up to happenstance. He is an analytical, a thorough man - he likes knowing what's going to happen, likes being _prepared_.

Orihime occupies the otherwise empty space of the throne room, and it has a profound effect on Ulquiorra. Her shadowy prescience, combined with the fact that Ulquiorra's strings have been purposely cut loose, makes him uncharacteristically troubled. He has a lot of excess energy, budding in preparation for the upcoming fight with Ichigo, and suddenly he needs an outlet for this turbulent swarm inside of him.

"Woman," he says in that same, cool unaffected voice. Orihime sways uncertainly on the spot. "Come here."

This time she does not hesitate; she simply comes forward. It is a command she has obeyed many times before, as she encircles her arms around him and closes her eyes, her mouth blindly finding his own.

--

Afterwards, Ulquiorra and Orihime discuss hearts as they adjust their clothes. This is the first time he has taken her without motive. Before it was done in part to benefit Aizen-sama, in order to better understand his enemy. It was meant to manipulate Orihime's feeble human emotions, bind her more completely to Ulquiorra's - and in turn, Aizen-sama's - will. Ulquiorra is displeased to note it has done little to ease his state of restlessness.

"I think that's what it means... to have six hearts beat as one."

Ulquiorra's immediate reaction is to scoff at her.

"What is a heart?" he demands, reaching out and touching the cotton fabric of her outfit, and the delicate clavicle beneath it. "If I rip open your chest, will I see it? If I crack open your skull, will I find it there?" For once, Orihime does not shrink away from his imposing figure. She simply stays standing there, gazing up at him with solemn eyes. And then he sees it - its _pity_.

The sight of it summons the cold fury within him. He has the sudden urge to snap at her, to say something particularly malicious, to lash out at her. And then he realizes that he's no better. He has fallen prey to these absurd human feelings, and it's in this moment that Ulquiorra makes his decision.

_This woman does strange things to me._

It has never occurred to Ulquiorra before that he might be in denial.

"I want you to become my Fraccion," he says, and Orihime takes a step back in surprise. He reaches out, catches her by her slender wrists, keeps her rooted to the spot. He can't afford to lose her yet - not when she stirs up dregs of a former life. Because if Ulquiorra is allowed to be honest with himself, he will admit a certain curiosity.

But he still denies that it could possibly be anything else beyond scientific inquiry.

_No, certainly not._

--

**A/N: **uhm, what the hell did i just write? i could continue it, i suppose, but i probably wont. xD hope you all enjoyed!


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